Professor among 10 shot dead in Karachi

KARACHI- At least 10 people, including a senior professor, were gunned down in separate incidents of target killing here in the metropolis on Monday.A senior professor, Dr Javed Iqbal Qazi, was shot dead and his driver wounded in a targeted attack in the North Nazimabad area. Police said the professor was targeted when he was returning from Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) in North Nazimabad. The gunmen who, putting on caps, were waiting for him sprayed bullets,” said the victim’s driver, Rab Nawaz, who was also shot in his leg.Qazi was immediately taken to a private hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. Later, his body was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy. Doctors at the hospital said the deceased sustained three bullets in his upper torso and died moments after he was attacked. After receiving news about his death, a number of his fellow doctors, students and relatives reached the hospital and condemned the incident.The deceased was serving as head of pathology department at the Karachi Medical and Dental College.Prof Qazi had got his doctorate degree in medicine from abroad.Police also reached the site and collected evidences. The police officials said a 30-bore pistol was used in the assassination while police have also found four empty shells from the crime scene. However, the investigators remained unable to ascertain the motive behind the incident. “It was neither a robbery bid nor an enmity. He was not receiving any kind of threat from anyone,” says North Nazimabad DSP Iftikhar Lodhi. “It is 100 per-cent target killing, but so far we have no exact idea about why it happened.”At least three doctors have been killed so far in Karachi since January 2014 while many of the doctors are receiving life threats from extortionists. There are also reports that the deceased had been receiving life threats, however, the authorities concerned denied it. Meanwhile, various parts of Lyari, including Kalakot and Chakiwara, remained tense on Monday and routine and commercial activities were also partially suspended in the affected areas due to the gun battle between the gangster groups.The members of both the gangster groups – Baba Ladla and Uzair Baloch – have started picking up their rival group members and killing them. Police officials said it escalated again following the killing of Kamran Baloch, a brother of the slain Rehman Baloch. Kamran Baloch was killed in the Jhat Pat Market area of Lyari on Sunday night apparently by the Baba Ladla group members.Since his killing, three bodies have been found in Lyari. The two bodies were found from Chakiwara area while the third was found from Kalakot area. All the three victims have yet to be identified. Police officials, while quoting the initial investigations, said they were shot and killed after kidnapping. Their bodies were moved to morgue for identification purpose after medico-legal formalities were completed at Civil Hospital. Meanwhile, a woman and a man were also wounded during armed clashes between the two groups while the law-enforcement agencies were unable to control the situation.Separately, a young man, associated with Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, was shot dead in an act of target killing in Ancholi Society within the limits of Samanabad police station. The deceased was identified as Shahab Haider Naqvi, 35, son of Nazimuddin. Police said the deceased was sitting at his shop in the area when at least two armed men came close to him and escaped after shooting him. He received multiple shots and died on the spot. His body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. An MWM spokesperson condemned the incident and demanded the law enforcers arrest the culprits. “Our people are being killed for sectarian reasons, but no one is here to stop it,” says the spokesperson. “This continuation of the killing of the people on sectarian basis is the result of the failed Karachi operation.”Zohaib aka Panda, 22, was found dead in Teen Hattie area in the Super Market police jurisdiction. Police said the deceased was a drug peddler and lived in Mehmoodabad. SHO Anzar Alam said the deceased was shot in his head by unidentified persons for unexplained reasons.Similarly, a rickshaw driver was found dead in his home in Railway Society within the Model Colony police area. He was identified as Abdur Rehman, 65. According to police, he was administered some poisonous substance by unidentified persons.Forensic expert Aftab, who was a sub-inspector, was shot dead near Nagan Chowrangi within the limits of New Karachi police station. The police officials said the deceased lived in KDA apartments in North Nazimabad. The incident took place when he was returning after withdrawing cash from ATM. Police remained confused about the nature of the incident as they could not ascertain whether he was killed over offering resistance on a robbery bid or it was an act of target killing. SHO Chaudhry Afzal said nothing could be said as the investigation was at the preliminary stage.Separately, an MQM man from Orangi Town’s Unit-118 was shot dead in an act of target killing in Federal B Area within the limits of Yousuf Plaza police. The police said the deceased was going somewhere on a motorcycle when unidentified armed motorcyclists shot and killed.In another incident, a suspected gangster, identified as Jibran, was shot dead in Lyari’s Kalakot area. The police said the victim was killed during an armed clash between two groups of gangsters in Lyari.Meanwhile, Anti-Terrorism Cell of the Crime Investigation Department claimed to have arrested two alleged target killers during a raid in Docks area. The officials said the arrested suspects were involved in at least five cases of target killings.

This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 18-Feb-2014 here.